A Moment in Time
by erieko
Summary: Sakura faces an inevitable battle -- but who and what is she up against? How will she overcome the dilemma she is faced with? Please R+R! :)
1. Ohayo

NOTE: I don't own Card Captor Sakura, or its' characters, I'm just a fan. Many thanks to CLAMP for creating such a wonderful story ^_______^!  
  
  
"I'll come back!"   
  
"When?"  
  
"It may take some time. Will you wait for me?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
A chestnut-coloured hair girl smiled, tears in her eyes. She would wait for him. She knew he'd come back, no matter what. And when he did, they could finally be together. This was only a temporary parting. They would see each other again in no time, she consoled herself.   
Admist feelings of sadness and happiness, the girl waved goodbye to the boy on the coach and watched him disappear into the horizon.  
  
"Sakura!"  
  
"Nnhh?"  
  
"Ne, Sakura!!"  
  
"Mmmmhh.. ten more minutes…"  
  
"SA-KU-RA!!!" a stuffed-bear with wings yelled as he lifted up Sakura's pillow, staring crossly at her face.  
  
"Hoeeeééh!!!" Sakura screamed, falling off the bed, entangled in her sheets.   
  
The stuffed-bear peered at her curiously, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Kero-chan!! What's the big idea, stuffing your face into mine so early in the morning?!" Sakura groaned and tried detangling herself from the mess. "It's almost 10! That's not very early," Kero pointed to the clock. "Hoé? 10 already? Feels like six.." Sakura yawned and stood up. "You sounded like you were having a good dream.. what's it about huh? Tell me, tell me! …Does it involve any SWEETS??" he sighed with heart-shaped eyes.  
  
Sakura blushed, remembering bits and pieces of her dream. "Umm.. is everyone up?" changing the subject. "Your dad's out, but I think your brother's downstairs.." "Oh? I thought he's going to work?" "Don't know about that, but he's with Yue." "Yukito-san is here?!" Sakura jumped, knocking Kero-chan into a pile of clothes. "Mmrphf!!"

******

  
Yukito looked at his friend, grinning. "You look so cute." Touya turned his head sharply, frowning "Hey, watch it." Yukito couldn't help smiling in response. Touya was dressed up as an ice-cream, looking highly uncomfortable. "Why do I keep getting into these things.." Touya sighed, as his friend double-checked the costume. "We both know you have a soft heart for charity.. besides, I think you look really delicious.." Yukito winked. "Yuki!"  
  
"Ohayo!" Sakura greeted as she breezed into the kitchen. "Ohayo, Sakura-chan. You're running up a little late today!" Yukito smiled. "That's understandable for a kaijin. She must've stayed up, flattening poor civilians in the streets again late last night.." Touya shook his head. "I did NOT! And KAIJIN wa JANAI!!" Sakura retorted.   
  
"Touya.. don't tease her!"   
  
"Yeah, oni-chan!! …At least I'm not the one who has to parade around as a strawberry-flavoured ice-cream over the weekend…" Sakura smirked. Touya turned red, and kept quiet, causing his friend and sister to both laugh out loud.  
  
"Anyway, Yukito-san what brings you here? I thought oni-chan was supposed to meet you at the arena?" Sakura asked as she fixed herself a bowl of cereal. "Ahh…" Yukito glanced at Touya. "Well, uhhh.. we had some stuff to do before that, so I invited Yuki over," Touya coughed.   
  
"Hoéh? Oni-chan, why are you turning red again?"   
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
Sakura raised an eyebrow, looking at Yukito and Touya suspiciously.  


******

  
"Kero-chan! I'm going to go see Tomoyo now.. you stay at home okay?" Sakura called out as she put on her shoes. "Tomoyo? Where are you going?? Are you gonna have cake???" Kero flew down, drooling. Sakura looked at her guardian crossly, "IIE! We're going to the arena to check our class' booth. I told you last night, remember?" "Oh. It's just going to be a games' booth this year, right?" Kero hung his head, disappointed.   
  
"Y-E-S. I certainly don't want you to come flying around eating all our sweets like the last time!"   
  
"I didn't do it!! It was Suppi!!"   
  
"Spinel-san would never do such a thing," Sakura huffed disbelievingly.   
  
"He DID too!!"  
  
"Stay HOME."  
  
"But! But!"  
  
Sakura closed the door shut, leaving Kero protesting to himself.  
  
"Why doesn't she believe me?! Of all the nerve! Trusting that black cat instead of me!!" Kero sulked, looking around the empty house. "I need something to cheer me up.. hmm… what's that I smell?" he flew into the kitchen. "Hora!! KEKU!!" Kero squealed in delight as he saw a big chocolate cake on the table. "Ara? How come Sakura never mentioned anything about it?" Kero looked around the kitchen, half-expecting it to answer. "Maybe she doesn't want me to eat it…" Kero wondered, inching away from the cake.  
  
"But! She didn't mention anything about it, so maybe she didn't know? …And why shouldn't I eat it?! She didn't trust me when I told her Suppi was the one who ate all the sweets! I should just eat it to make her feel bad! There's also no one here, anyway!" Kero argued with himself. "Or… maybe she felt bad about leaving me here and baked one for me earlier! Yes, yes, that must be it!" Kero reasoned and walked back towards the cake. "Mmmm~ This cake must be at least 6 pounds!! ITADAKIMASU!!!" Kero plunged himself into the cake.  
  
However, with all the excitement, Kero failed to notice something.   
  
At that very minute, there was a very observant figure outside the Kinomoto home. It watched the guardian's every move, and smirked when he gobbled the cake in record time. "_My, my… Some things never change, do they?_" it whispered, disappearing. 


	2. I miss you

NOTE: Standard Disclaimers - I don't own Card Captor Sakura, or its' characters, I'm just a fan. Many thanks to CLAMP for creating such a wonderful story ^_______^!  
  
  
"Waiwaiii.. they've already set up such a huge stage! I hope this will turn out to be a successful event!" Sakura smiled at her best friend. "Ara? There's the chuugakusei's stalls! …They look so professional! Let's go take a look-see, Tomoyo-chan!" she exclaimed, sprinting towards the area.  
  
"They've got all kinds of booths here… hmm… cake stall? Kero-chan would love that… basketball games? I'm sure Yukito-san will beat them flat like the last time… a book stall? It'll be Naoko's number 1 stop!" Sakura explored the notices on each booth. She felt a stab at her heart when she saw the last poster. Tomoyo looked at her friend, and read the notice "A stall selling Kuma-chans… Sakura-chan, I'm sure you'll love this stall!"  
  
"Mm…" Sakura bit her lip, staring at the bear-printed notice.  
  
"Has he called recently?" Tomoyo asked worriedly.  
  
"Hoéh? Who?"  
  
"Li-kun. It's been three weeks since he last called, hasn't it?"  
  
"Mm… the last time he called, he told me that he might be a bit busy… and that his phone line may be down due to some renovations at his house. I tried calling, but it's always engaged. I tried writing too, but…" Sakura trailed, making no effort to finish her sentence.  
  
She then looked around the stalls again. "I can't believe how time flew by. It's been fourteen months since Syaoran left… Oni-chan and Yukito-san are already in University.. and in another two months, we'll be starting Junior college.. it's all passing by too quickly for my liking.." she sighed, tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
"He'll be alright, Sakura-chan. And you'll be alright too. Don't forget - You're the world's greatest sorceress! And you possess the invincible spell! …I'll always be here for you if you need me," Tomoyo clasped her best friend's hand, smiling. Sakura thanked her friend gratefully, "Hontou ni arigatou, Tomoyo-chan. If it weren't for you, I don't know how I'd survive through all this…"   
  
"It's okay, Sakura. Just don't be sad. I'll be happy if you're happy. Remember that, okay?" Tomoyo patted her friend's head. "Hai!" Sakura nodded assertively. "Sa, sa… let's go take a look at our class' stall now!"  
  
As the two scooted off in the opposite direction, a familiar shadowy figure appeared from behind a tall post, staring at the pair of friends. "_Yes, Sakura-san… there is no reason for you to be sad… for now…_"  


******

  
"Tadaima!" Sakura burst into her room, carrying a little take-away bag. "O-kaeri… na… sai…" Kero greeted weakly. "Ne, Kero-chan… daijoubu? You look sick…" Sakura peered at him worriedly. "Dai… jou… bu… How was the… arena?" Kero wheezed.   
  
"It's really big! There's probably fifty over stalls there… our class' booth is almost finished… we just need some sponsorship of prizes right now. Tomoyo-chan said that she'll ask her mother about that, and we'll probably need a few random gifts from other parents… you know, as consolation prizes."   
  
"Oh…"   
  
"Anyway, sorry for leaving you home. Here, I brought you back some butter cookies! Rika made them, and it's really tasty! Have one!" Sakura opened the bag, revealing pieces of cookies. Kero turned green. "No… thank you…"   
  
"Hoéh?"   
  
"I'm so tired now. I'm going to bed… oyasumi…" Kero yawned, flying into the drawer and plonked himself on the bed.  
  
"Kero? Refuse cookies? The sky must be falling…" Sakura stared at the drawer unbelievingly.  


******

  
"Dear Eriol-kun, genki desuka? I haven't written in a while, but that's because we've got a major charity event right now. Everyone in our school is involved… I guess it's because this will probably be the last event we'll hold as elementary school students. It's really sad. In another two months, we'll be attending Junior College! That's really fast, don't you think?  
  
What about you? Will you be attending college in England? How is Mizuki-sensei? And Akizuki-san and Spinel-san? Please send them my regards. I really hope everyone is well…"  
  
She paused, wondering what else to write. Her eyes flickered to a photo frame by her bedside table. The photo showed a smiling Sakura and Tomoyo, along with Eriol and an edgy Syaoran. They had taken the photo when they visited the Teddy Bear Exhibition. She gazed at the apprehensive-looking Syaoran, giggling softly to herself. _He never did like to take photos_, she thought.  
  
She looked around her room, and slowly unlocked her drawer. She slowly and carefully took out a box, and lifted the cover. In it were tens and hundreds of letters. All from Hong Kong. All from Syaoran. She lifted up one of the first few letters, reading to herself.   
  
_Sakura. How have you been? I hope you're doing well. It's been chaotic these days over here in Hong Kong. Oka-san told me that the elders of the Li clan aren't too pleased with me… for not becoming the master of the cards. She tried covering up my extended stay in Japan, claiming that the master of the cards was still undecided. However, now that the elders finally know the truth… I think it'll be a while before I can return. I'm really sorry. I'm sure this matter will be resolved soon enough. So, don't worry about me, and do take care of yourself._  
  
Sakura folded the letter neatly and placed it in the box. She then held her grey teddy bear tightly and switched off the lights. _Why hasn't he called? I hope he's alright. Hmm… I wonder if he's thinking about me right now? I can't wait for him to come back… there's so much I want to tell him…_  
  
"Oyasumi, Syaoran-kun…" she murmured softly as she fell into deep sleep.  


******

  
Any comments? :) I'd love some feedback, thanks! ^^  



	3. Feeling Wistful

NOTE: Standard Disclaimers! I don't own Card Captor Sakura, or its' characters, I'm just a fan. Many thanks to CLAMP for creating such a wonderful story ^_______^!

"I can't wait for the event tomorrow! I think we did an awesome job on our booth!" Sakura exclaimed happily, sipping her lemonade. "Arigatou minna, for your hard work!" Yamazaki cheered, showing everyone a thumbs up sign. "Yokata… I thought we'd never finish…" Rika sighed, stirring her drink.  
  
Sakura and her classmates had just finished setting up the class' booth, something they thought they'd never complete in time. They were presently all seated at a nearby café, rewarding themselves with drinks for their effort. "I wonder what would Eriol and Syaoran-kun say when they see our stall?" Yamazaki suddenly questioned.   
  
Sakura stiffened at the mentioning of Syaoran's name.  
  
"I'm sure they would think we did a great job," Naoko nodded. "Eriol-kun would've done a good job in decorating the booth. He always seemed to have such good taste…" Rika responded. "I think we would've been able to finish the booth preparations a lot earlier with Syaoran's manpower," Yamazaki sighed. "And Meiling-chan would've probably said it wasn't good enough, since she wasn't involved!" Chiharu winked, causing laughter from the table.  
  
"It'd be nice if all three were here with us now…" Tomoyo affirmed everyone's thoughts. The table fell silent, as each and every one of them reminisced the past.  


******

  
On the very same evening, Sakura walked back alone. She declined Tomoyo's offer to send her home, saying she needed some time alone. She walked in the direction of her house, oblivious to her surroundings. She reached a cross junction and paused. Her house was straight up the road, but somehow she didn't quite feel like going home. After much deliberation, Sakura turned left and moved on. She eventually reached the playground.  
  
She smiled as she saw the swings. She had been on these swings before. It was the same swings she sat on as she poured her heart out to Syaoran about confessing to Yukito. This was where Syaoran handed her his handkerchief and cheered her up. She felt tears trickling down her eyes, and realized how much she missed him.  
  
It must've been a good ten or fifteen minutes before she felt someone behind her. _Ara? Who's behind me? I must look like an idiot, spacing out here! …How come that person didn't say anything then? I-I… h-hope it's not a ghost!! Waiwaiiiii..!!_ she flinched.  
  
"Excuse me."  
  
"Wahhh!! I'm sorry if I offended you, I didn't mean it!!" Sakura squealed, crouching down and covering her eyes.  
  
She half-expected a spirit to pry her eyes open or devour her, instead, she heard a chuckle and froze.   
  
_It can't be… that voice… that laugh…_ She spun around, shocked.  
  
"S..Syaoran-kun!"  


****** 

It's a lil' short... but it'll have to do? lol. Any comments? :) I'd love some feedback, thanks! ^^ 


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